THE HORROR OF MISTVALE HALL isn’t the first book by William Jeffrey Rankin that I’ve read. An earlier novella, the excellent INVOCATIONS OF THE SUBMORTAL evocatively brought to mind the classics of M R James. Here Rankin keeps alive the flame of the traditional English ghost story. This is a noble art, and he imbues his work with reverence for the genre. But not only that, he takes it in new directions, and that is to be applauded.
Efficiently setting the scene, I very soon got the sense that I was in the capable hands of an assured storyteller. From the Hammer Horror setup, complete with its isolated gothic mansion looming from between the trees as the story’s protagonist Jonathan Quint approaches it along a driveway, to the perfectly pitched introduction to the mystery once he arrives, this author knows exactly what he’s doing.
Once at the house, there to investigate the weird goings on being reported by its new owner, Quint begins to experience strange happenings too. An early “story within a story” is written with all the trappings of a ghostly fireside tale, and is genuinely creepy. A lesson from this smaller story informs the wider investigation at hand.
From here Rankin takes us on a journey that becomes more and more expansive as it develops, and this part of the tale is a masterclass in intrigue, as the characters explore the house and it’s grounds, and make discovery upon discovery that had me absolutely glued to the page.
Where those discoveries lead I’ll not say; the joy comes from being blindsided by these revelations. But there are plenty of surprises along the way, building to a brilliant set of climactic events that feel well earned, and ratched up to a surprising level.
William Jeffrey Rankin is a terrific writer, who has set out here to create something familiar and something new at the same time. He expertly navigates this approach. Honestly, this is the best supernatural book I have read in a good while, and among the best haunted house stories I’ve ever read. I kid you not, it’s that good.
Buy the book on Amazon